As
we learned in Chapter 3, Mozart scholars hold different views on the paradox
that shrouds the C Minor Mass. Here's what we know followed by a ballot
with which you can vote for the solution to the C Minor Mystery that feels
right to you.
The Key Facts1.Wolfgang composed
the Mass from the heart to fulfill a prenuptial vow. To him it was entirely
personal.

2.Since he wasn't
being paid for it, whether or not it was performed was entirely up to
him.

3.He arranged
it for a collection of instruments unique to Salzburg at the time.

4.He wrote one
of the soprano solos to suit his beloved Constanze's voice.

5.The manuscript
was still incomplete when he and Constanze left for Salzburg and some
of the surviving shards were on manuscript paper unique to Salzburg.

6.He intended
to finish, rehearse and perform the Mass within three to four weeks of
arriving in Salzburg.

7.That trip
was intended to overcome two intractable Mozart family schisms:

To set straight once and for all who was in charge of Wolfgang's life
and career.
To introduce Constanze to his father in a way that convinces him to welcome
her into the family.

8.Neither of
these goals was achieved; Leopold remained convinced that his son's career
was out of control and his daughter-in-law was unworthy of the Mozart
name. Wolfgang and Constanze were disheartened, to say the least.

9.Their six-week-old
son, who was left in Vienna in the care of a wet nurse, tragically died
of dysentery only days before the C Minor Mass was originally scheduled
to be performed.
(Historians differ on whether the parents were ever told of this until
their return to Vienna 15 weeks later.)

10.The Mass was
not performed until two months later. During that time the couple remained
in Salzburg, a city Wolfgang openly loathed. They were also in dangerously
close proximity to the tyrannical Prince Archbishop who, as Wolfgang's
former employer, could have thrown the composer in jail for leaving the
Court without formal discharge papers.

11.Both Wolfgang
and Leopold Mozart were meticulous about preserving every letter and composition.

12.Very little
of the score that was written in Salzburg survived, and that which did
had an incomplete draft-like quality to it.

13.Wolfgang's
modus operandi as a composer was to work out a piece fully (or nearly
so) in his head before putting pen to paper, so his "drafts"
were often finished works.

14.An angry and
embittered Constanze was known to have destroyed over a years' worth of
letters that Leopold had written to her husband - letters before and after
the Salzburg visit in which he expressed his disapproval of her.

15.Wolfgang could
only have performed a complete Mass or none at all.
(Historians agree on this, although they differ on how he filled in the
now missing pieces. The most prevalent theories include adaptations of
his earlier church music and simple plainchant, either of which would
have represented an abandonment of his artistic conscience.)

16.Wolfgang and
Constanze departed Salzburg without fanfare early in the morning following
the performance.

The Core Issue
and Questions

Questions
remain largely because there was no correspondence between the family
members (during or, quite interestingly, after the Salzburg trip) to chronicle
their feelings and events.

So
the fundamental mystery surrounding the C Minor Mass is rooted in the
difference between an "unfinished composition" and an "incomplete
manuscript."

The
latter is obviously true, it is incomplete. And it was not uncommon for
Mozart to abandon a piece mid-stride when the motivation for completing
it vanished. (And according to biographer Albert Einstein, Wolfgang never
completed any piece that was dedicated to Constanze how odd.)

But
how could a composer of Mozart's stature complete but not "finish"
the one piece that had so much riding on it? The piece that includes his
most brilliant and ambitious expression of counterpoint  on a scale
worthy of Johann Sebastian Bach himself? The piece intended to forge a
new family unity?

Unlike
his more famous but also "unfinished" Mass, the Requiem in D
Minor (K.626), he could not simply claim an untimely death as an excuse.
Or could he?

How would you solve
the C Minor Mystery?

Something
was written and performed. But what was it? What happened to it? And why?

Here
are several plausible answers to each of these three vexing questions.
Construct your own solution to the mystery by voting for the answers you
feel are right and click on "Send".

If
you feel there's a different answer than what you see here, there's a
textbox for each question where you can type it in. The most interesting
submitted answers will get added to the ballot for consideration by subsequent
readers.

After
Raimund's untimely death and Leopold's cold rejection Constanze,
Wolfgang simply could not muster the inspiration to compose sections
worthy of the grandeur and complexity of what he penned in Vienna.

Seeing
that his son lost all interest in completing such a glorious Mass,
a sympathetic Leopold composed music for the missing sections. An
appreciative Wolfgang felt compelled to go through with the performance,
even though his father's music was not of the same caliber as his
own.

The
Prince Archbishop decreed that the Mass must never be performed
again because it did not conform to his orthodox view of what was
permissible in sacred music.

The
C Minor Mass was always intended by Wolfgang to be a one-time affair
in Salzburg; once it was over there was no point in keeping any
portions with which he wasn't completely satisfied.

Wolfgang
would never publish anything that was not up to his standard, which
is why he repurposed only certain parts in the Davidde Penitente
oratorio a year and a half later.

As
a pointed reminder of a bitter and hurtful time, Constanze could
not bear to have the Salzburg manuscripts around.

Other:

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